EVERSOLODMP-A8 Music Streamer,DAP,DAC,Preamp,4GDDR4 +64GeMMC AK4191EQ+AK4499EX,ARC Input,IIS Output,UV Meters,spectrums,Parametric EQ,Pre AMP+10dB Analog gain,DSD512 PCM768kHz/32bit Black

Heads up - this is a detailed review, first impressionsFor many years, I have used the best streamer under 1k: Sonos connect with the W4S mod, coax out to my DAC. Sound wise, there wasnt anything close under 1k. Sonos port with W4S mod - inferior, Blusound - not close. I just wanted something a bit more responsive and was dissappointed when the Sonos port sounded inferior even with the W4S mod. So with the recent releases of promising products, I bought both the Innuos Pulse mini streamer and this Eversolo DMP-A6 and compared them. There is so much you can learn from the web reviews, and from experience, there can be little info on sound quality. Example - the W4S Sonos connect has very few reviews for what was for its time, an outstanding product. (It still is). So here are my impressions:Sound quality as a streamer into an external DAC: (my primary use)SPDIF (coax out): All 3 are close. Eversolo is the best by a slight margin. Very slightly cleaner in the highs, Well balanced. Sonos is a very close #2 and I could live with this as well. Slightly brighter, a tad more dynamic. Innuos: #3 Cleaner highs than the Sonos but with the stock power supply has a layer of grunge that an external power supply removes. With an external power supply, it is a bit less clean and a bit less dynamic than the other 2. Again, these differences are slight.USB out: Eversolo and Innuos (with external power supply) are the same. with innuos stock power supply , innuos is slightly grungier, which surprised me. USB I didnt like because it was less dynamics than SPDIF coax, both units. Through USB, highs are cleaner, better sibilantsApp: Innuos and Sonos apps are the best. #1: Innuos #2: Sonos #3 distant third is eversolo app. Eversolo is hard to navigate and not that clean. Innuos app is rock solid. Eversolo app would not allow me to connect to my iphone app via the camera scan.Tidal streaming: On Sonos and Eversolo, you can use the native Tidal app, via Tidal connect. Innuos you have to use their app, which is very good anyway. Eversolo app is frustrating, so very happy to avoid.Front panel - #1: Eversolo #2: Sonos #3: InnuosBack panel: #1: Eversolo #2: Sonos #3: Innuos Main benefit is that eversolo and sonos has wifi built in.Sound with built in DAC: Did not review. I have read that the Eversolo DAC is not that good.I am going to keep the Eversolo and Innuos for a while and see how they evolve and how easy to live with. I am impressed by the rock solid Innuos - it just works and it is clear that a lot of thought has gone into it and with their app. The Eversolo by comparison is full featured and has a flovor of lets put everything in and see what sticks. I can give up all the bells and whistles on the Eversolo for a better app and their excellent sound quality. Will update after more use.Edit 1: Used a 2TB intel 670p NVMe. Works great. Amazon sells 2TB for $70, 1TB for $40 right now. I would suggest that you use an external enclosure to connect to your computer or server to transfer your music the first time. Format it in exFAT, and then transfer your music. Then move the drive to the Eversolo. I first tried it by installing it into the eversolo and transferring it via wifi. It was soooo slow. Would take about a month to transfer my music. Then did it the way I suggested and that took about a minute. Also, I noted that the CPU in the eversolo is a weak performer compared to the innuos pulse mini, about 3x slower. So anything you ask the eversolo to do that requires CPU is going to be slow. The sound quality coming from the drive is superior than streaming through Tidal. Earlier I commented that the sound from the W4S sonos connect was brighter than that from Eversolo; now the balance from the drive is the same as streaming from the Connect, but more detailed. So far, the Sound Quality is the best from the NVMe with hires sources. (I tested with a 96kHz 24 bit track vs Tidal MQA).Edit2: Spent some time comparing USB vs SPDIF output. For those who are unaware, SPDIF output takes the audio digital signal and clocks it using onboard crystal oscillators to your external DAC. The external DAC uses the clock from your device (DMP A6) as the master clock. USB just sends the digital signal via an asynchronous format to your DAC. Your DAC then reclocks it with onboard crystal oscillators before doing the conversion to analog. So which sounds better will depend a lot on whether the clocks on the DMP A6 vs your DAC. The master edition of the DMP A6 supposedly has better clocks so SPDIF should sound better, whereas the USB should be the same. That said, my DAC has a pretty decent USB conversion, at least as good as the DMP A6. I used the highest quality digital signal from my NVMe for comparison and went from USB to SPDIF everything else the same to my DAC. My conclusion is that the USB output is cleaner, but I didnt always prefer the USB out. The biggest different was the soundstage. The SPDIF was up front, immediate and more exciting, whereas the USB out was further away. For pop, I generally preferred the SPDIF, whereas for classical, I preferred the USB because everything was cleaner, more precise. If you have a cheaper DAC, you probably would prefer the SPDIF. I tried it on a cheaper DAC and I preferred the SPDIF. So it all depends on your preference and the quality of the USB clocking on your DAC vs the DMP A6.

Before the DMP-A8, I first purchased the Eversolo DMP-A6 Master Edition and found the sound to be bright, analytical, borderline harsh, compressed, and thin...basically not realistic or natural like my existing sources. Many have written about these traits and I confirmed this in my use. With the DMP-A6 ME thru my Ayon Audio Spirit III Class A tube amp, Ayon Audio Triton, CA Edge A, and Legacy Audio speakers I experienced the first time these amps sounded bright and fatiguing. Even the WiiM Pro Plus using fixed volume with its economy design and lower end AKM DAC sounded more open, airy, more warm, and more realistic in blind AB comparison, and at 1/5 the price. My intended use is as an all in one unit utilizing both single ended and XLR analog outputs with good volume control being important so I can drive power amps directly.I tested the DMP-A6 ME thru multiple different integrated amps and directly driving power amps including with fixed volume and all the filters. The best results were thru a Anthem Statement A2 power amp with Slow Roll-off DAC filter, which was still bright sounding but not as fatiguing as the other more accurate amps. Also remember there is an EQ where the treble can be trimmed but I am a believer in testing flat to see how the unit really sounds.As I really liked the software, interface, and quality I decided I would give Eversolo another try so I purchased the DMP-A8 with time to compare them side by side before the return window was up. The high end feature set in this A8 is very good and the difference in sound thru the A8 was immediate and overwhelmingly better with a very full, detailed, warm, and natural sound having better highs, extended bass, and a natural textured midrange. Yes there is a large price difference but those who say these two units sound similar must not have adequate amps and speakers, as it is night and day difference between these two units...think 1990's digital verses analog.The A8 sound was very full and all encompassing with a wide and deep soundstage and the micro details were exceeding many other high end DAC's I own and have tried...all without being too bright or glared over and still while providing that warm textured midrange timbre that is so important. Though the A8 is not the very best combination I have heard, it is 95% there and certainly at the best price. I have no doubt this AKM Velvet Sound Veritas combination is a lot of the difference over the ESS DAC's in the DMP-A6 ME. Either way, there was not one setup (including in my sound treated near anechoic home theater) where the A8 did not trump the A6...and yes it is much more expensive but given the many features, excellent DAC, digital side DSP, Linear Power supply, analog inputs, and very good preamp using r2r volume control it is worth the money. If you do not have the budget there are other options (including anything from Cambridge Audio and even the low cost WiiM Pro Plus) that sound more natural without the glare. If you like a more etched, detailed, bright sound the A6 might be for you but if you have bright sounding speakers, look out.I think the extended range, immediacy, sound decay, and naturalness of an accurate Class A tube amplifier really shows the weaknesses of the DMP-A6 ME and the strengths of the DMP-A8 as Class D amplifiers, like so many persons are using now, haze over the frequency extremes and retract the midrange (I tested a Rotel Class D power amp as well). Furthermore, the DMP-A8 destroys the A6 ME in the quality manner in which it smooths out old recordings like the classic Jazz and 1980's rock...old Rolling Stones albums sound really good. A great test of how well the upper, middle, and lower frequencies can be handled by the DMP-A8 verses the A6 is Wynton Marsalis's Unforgivable Blackness...which is a masterpiece that is very well recorded.The downside of this A8 is that it is Chi-Fi so reliability could very well be an issue but looking at the components and high quality and intelligent layout of the circuit board...I hope I am wrong as the warranty of 1 year for a component at this cost shows little confidence from Eversolo. Either way, I am keeping the A8 and have returned the A6 ME, but I will be sure to buy an extended warranty for at least 3 years and I will certainly come back with comments if it fails.

This review is mostly focused on Apple Music integration.In bullet points:Not using Airplay, which is lossy.Using "Apple Streaming services" resolution is limited to 44.1khz.Using the "Apple Music App" gives you full HiRes playback.There is NO Dolby Support.Using an external DAC - Denafrips Terminator + 15th - volume passthrough is recommended.Using the Internal DAC - which is excellent, as in detailed and neutral thanks to its AKM chip - volume passthrough is recommended.Using the unit as a preamp is not recommended if using high end gear.Compared to streaming from an Apple device, the detail retrieval and soundstage are on another level.But there is the very occasional bottlenecking of data that causes a sound anomaly and that will immediately take you out of the experience.The first half second of a track is sometimes skipped if the bit rate changes. That's annoying too. There's a sample rate latency switch feature in the settings, but it doesn't seem to do much.The 15 band EQ is VERY aggressive and not discreet. Could not come up with a curve that worked even in small increments. Ended up disabling it.The App is GREAT - except when using "CAST" which allows you to mirror Apple Music on an iPhone or iPad. Navigation is "sticky" as in not as fluid as using a native app. Horizontal format only.CONCLUSION: It sounds great! The internal DAC performance was a surprise. Too many features to go over. A few bugs. My recommendation: keep it simple and try which Source/Output combo sounds best on YOUR system.